i'm looking to build a couple unlimited class 10'+ surf rods to put my 4 wides and 6 wides on for targeting large sharks. my problem is i haven't been able to find a blank capable of throwing the amount of weight and bait required for such a rod. i know artie herbert built a few in the past by cutting down a 2 piece blank and turning it into a 1 piece but i have no idea how this is done. any help or advise on this would be appreciated

What are you casting? 10-15# Bluefish?

Take a hard look at the offerings for Sturgeon. Some of these will handle up to a pound of bait and are usually about 10' long.


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usually we use 10 to 16 ounces of weight and up to 1 lb of bait. so the rod needs to be able to handle 2 lbs plus the stress a distance caster can put on a rod.

Look for HAtteras HEaver blanks, there are several ou there. I think most are designed for 8+ bait, btu I'm sure there are several rated higher than that. Worst case scenario, is gettting an E-glass Lami surf blank and cutting the tip back.

There were a few good choices All Star's Super Surfs or Hawaii Surfs 2 pc if you can find them. Seeker's CSU 2pc British surf blanks which are discontinued but can be found. Also Pacbay/ Sabre E-glass SU138MH-b 1pc rated 3 to 5 oz but can handle a bit more. Versitex has these still. Most blanks rated for Heavy weight are over 11' and are E or S-glass or composites. The Sturgeon blanks are another choice but I didn't think they were over 10' (might be wrong)!
ATC makes a SU-1105 and 1164 that are ACTII graphite 2 peice and 1pc SW-1009H. Lami's GSB series, Tri-flex all go to 8 oz and the E-glass which have some up there ratings.

The problem will be getting a 1 pc blank shipped and there isn't any thing wrong with a two piece and it will be cheaper to ship. I have been building alot of surf rods and this is the biggest problem I have, SHIPPING$$$! You could end up paying more for shipping then the blank is worth!!

problem with the blanks you listed is none of them can handle a quarter of the weight i intend to throw. highest rated surf rod i've found so far is 16 ounces and i can honestly say the least amount of weight that will be thrown is 20 ounces(between lead and bait) and depending on current/ time of year it'll most likely see 24+ ounces. the biggest problem will be in handling the cast. i've snapped rods tossing practice weights that are half what a blank is rated for

my buddies have some of the old harringtons and sabres that used to be very popular among the shark fisherman down here but they are more of a paddle the bait out kinda rod then a casting rod. i found this out the hard way when i tried casting a 10 ounce sinker and snapped the blank in half on the first cast. my current favorite blank at the moment is an any fish anywhere rock rod which is rated for 10 ounces plus bait but i don't think i'd push this rod much past a 6 and bait after seeing a couple videos of me casting it with 5 ounces. i'm no tommy farmer but i can sling lead a long ways

Shawn, ck out fishsticks4u wheels reels blank ,nail or inferno i'm pretty sure ithey are heavy enough for your app., Wes

alot of the beach sharkers on the gulf coast yak the baits out, not cast them

[extremecoast.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2008 06:35PM by Barry Thomas Sr.

Most folks will have trouble "slinging" 24 ounces of anything from the end of a 10 foot stick. At least not very far.

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I have personally thrown 22oz and a chunk of bait (a total 30oz payload) with a Rainshadow 1569 with 6" off the tip. If my shoulder could handle more,I would,I know the rod can. I cast a magged 545GS on this rod. Look into the Tommy Wheeler blanks..."The Nail" will throw a 5lb brick, Seen it on youtube. And yes, I throw hard. I have no problem hitting 650' or better on the casting field.

Shawn,
Where are you fishing?
National Sea Shore?

wow only 6" cut off on a 1569? didn't think so little would make such a big difference. i've cast a 1569 a couple times and felt the power but from the ratings i didn't think it could handle that much. i'm going to have to try it out. i saw that brick video awhile back but thought it was just a standard over the shoulder throw which even my el cheapo's could do once maybe twice. so how much do you know about the wheeler blanks? i've heard some pretty aweful things about them so i never even considered them

david ya i used to fish pins and matagorda pretty regular until i had to get rid of my 4X4. now i'm looking into getting another fairly soon and want to get my shark rod selection built up again. i've managed to snap all of my older rods that i used to use for paddling baits out so now i want something that i can both paddle out or cast depending on conditions.

Shawn,

The folks in Hawaii routinely use wide 4/0 and 6/0 reels to target ulua. Occasionally a large shark will be hooked into that the 6/0 reels loaded will 100# mainline cannot stop. The method is to cast a 10 or 12 ounce sinker and then slide a bait out. Live fish, fresh octopus, and eel are used. The blanks are imported from Korea by Ken Kimura. I'm not sure of the designations, Slider and Magnum come to mind. I believe the Slider has a 17/64" tip. There was another blank being tested in Hilo that is supposed to be quite stout. I believe it's 12' long.

For additional information call:

Michael Tokunaga (S. Tokunaga Store) in Hilo

Or Brian Kimata (Brian's Fishing Supply) in Honolulu.

Here's the contact info:

[www.donstacklehawaii.com]

If you prefer a one piece, I recommend a Lamiglas fiberglass blank.

Don

Don Becker

as the others above mentioned, are you sure they are going to be casting the whole payload? I do a LOT of surf fishing and I wouldn't even attempt trying to throw 2lbs of weight on any rod. I would be able to throw it farther than I could cast the weight and bait.

What most people do is kinda like pin rigging, but from a beach. Get a normal heaver and launch the 12oz weight (or whatever size you need) as far as possible and then put a slide clip on that line hooked to another rod with the bait attached to it. You never really cast the bait, you just slide it down the heavers line. This solves two problems, one is the casting weight/wind resistance and secondly and maybe more importantly, it helps keep live bait alive.

When targeting something big, most people use a standup tuna rod for the bait and hook rod. When targeting monsters I wouldn't want to fight them on a 10ft or longer surf pole, the monster would have way too much leverage on you and you won't be able to use a belt effectively with the longer rods not designed for a belt. You can put a gimbal on the longer rod, but the reel seat position is either going to be way too low or too high. If you put the seat in the middle you really won't be able to cast the rod because your hands will be too close together.

^ what he said above! Get a cannon and shoot the bait out and get a good stiff rod. I didn't think you were looking to throw that much weight. And The sturgeon rods I have used can't cast that weight but can handle a drop and drift type of boat fishing with 10 to 12 oz.

While I agree with James, tehr is obviously a market for these types of rods since thre are several options. IOften as builders we tend to try adn tell fishermen how they SHOULD be fishing, instead of finding them something that they WANT.

Shawn,
Have you checked with Roy's in Corpus?

I can’t believe you cast that amount of weight.
I don’t think I have ever seen that done. Most everyone will paddle that amount of bait out.
How does a 1569 compare with say a harrington 552?

David

the 1569 i cast was alot stiffer then a 552 but i was told today that they redesigned the 1569 recently. the old harrington's weren't much of a casting rod they are more of a paddle rod. i never did like how the old glass rods loaded and have shattered more then a few. reason i want a rod that can handle casting that much weight is because there are times when it's just not safe to paddle out baits such as late at night, fishing alone, or fishing off a jetty. trying to launch a kayak off a jetty is always a gamble and i've seen people get messed up pretty bad doing it.

slide lining isn't really much of an option down here and it gets to be an even bigger pain when you have 4 to 6 shark baits soaking with another 4 to 6 other baits soaking. and yes i have fished with up to 15 rods before. it keeps a person busy.

some people may not like the way i fish but it works for me and i generally have a method to my madness

david when's the last time you checked out roy's just outta curiousity? i was really disappointed with the blanks he's stocking these days they're all glass and very low quality